The Future Law Podcast

In this week’s episode Mike Madison chats to Michael Morneualt, a lawyer who started his career in business development, and then joined a tech company building a litigation support practice.  Michael talks extensively about dispute resolution, as well as using data science in other areas of law.   Make sure you tune in every Tuesday for everything legaltech, ALSP’s and law.  [This episode was pub...

In this final episode for the season Mike and Dan chat about what they’ve both learnt about ALSP’S, what’s to come of them and how they impact the legaltech world.  We’ll be back next season for more on law and technology.  [This episode was published originally on February 7, 2023.]

What if we stopped speculating about ALSPs and instead started collecting data to gather the information? Well that’s exactly what this episode is about.  Mike Madison talks with Lucy Ricca and David Engstrom from Stanford Law School about their research and what their findings were.  Make sure you tune in every Tuesday for everything legaltech, ALSP’s and law.  [This episode was published origina...

This is a “big ideas” episode, part of our goal to bring out “big ambitious ideas about the future” as well as day to day concerns about ALSPs and legal services.  Law professor Orly Lobel  talks with host Mike Madison about her new book,  The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future , recently named one of the best books of 2022 by The Economist magazi...

We’re back to continue the season for 2023!  Every now and then we a broader view of the future of law, beyond ALSPs, and in this episode we do just that.  Mike Madison chats with Eric Holder, former Attorney General of the US under President Barack Obama, about the critical importance of defending and advancing voting rights in the American system and in democracy generally.   The conversation dr...

In this episode Dan Hunter chats with Isabel Parker, former Chief Legal Innovation Officer at Freshfields in London, and author of the recent book ‘Successful Digital Transformation in Law Firms’ about the issues law firms face nowadays and how to address them.   Make sure you tune in every Tuesday for everything legaltech, ALSP’s and law.  [This episode was published originally on January 24, 202...

The emergence of ALSPs and legaltech don’t change some fundamentals of lawyering and dispute resolution.  Jon Harris, founder and managing partner of Harris St. Laurent & Wechsler , a boutique law firm in New York specializing in employment law and white collar criminal defense, talks with Michael Madison about blending classic legal skills and multidisciplinary experience. Make sure you tune...

In this week’s episode Dan Hunter chats with David Pierce, the Chief Commercial Officer of Axiom, an ALSP that provides legal talent in over fourteen legal practices and twenty-nine industries..  David tells us what it takes to be a successful ALSP, what an in-house lawyer looks like and also his thoughts on the future of legal practice.    Make sure you tune in every Tuesday for everything legalt...

Mike chats with Bill Henderson, a law professor at the University of Indiana who has been studying the legal services marketplace closely for nearly 20 years. Looking at “alternative” providers, he tells us what’s changed, what’s more or less the same, and what’s coming. Make sure you tune in every Tuesday for everything legaltech, ALSP’s and law.  [This episode was published originally on Novembe...

We’re back for another season!  Last time we looked at a pair of topics: legaltech, and skills and competencies that are newly prominent in the new legal market. This season, we are digging into two new themes. We’ll look at ALSPs, which stands for “Alternative Legal Service Providers,” a rapidly growing and diverse market sector in legal. And we’ll also take some swings at big themes, systems, an...

How familiar are you with Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSP’s)? Do you think they’re still relevant? Or are they a bit ‘old school’?  Well ALSP’s are such a big and interesting sector that we decided it deserves more than just one episode!  This season Mike and Dan take a look at all types of ALSP’s, from independents and start up’s through to established and large scale.  So make sure you...

What happens when established law firms get into the ALSP sector? This episode focuses on an ALSP start up called  SixFifty , based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and SixFifty’s CEO,  Kimball Parker .  SixFifty is the product of an innovative legal services program based at the law school at  Brigham Young University  together with investment from  Wilson Sonsini , one of the leading technology law firm...

Despite double-digit salary growth in the legal industry, many firms are grappling with serious staffing concerns. So what do you do about it? Do you look outside your geographic boundaries? Or do you simply train up young lawyers? Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs) offer a range of solutions.  Mike Madison chats with the founders of  LegalEase Solutions,  Tariq Hafeez and Tariq Akbar, ab...

Curiosity is the key skill that lies beneath the headlines about the future of law. Beyond new technology and leadership skills, what is curiosity and how does it matter? Curiosity can pull you out of routines. It can introduce you to new opportunities. It can help you do more for clients. What else?  In this episode Mike chats to Lynn Borton, host of a radio show and podcast called ‘Choose To Be...

We’ve had many great guests on the show this season, from Hollywood movie producers to biographers and of course CEOs of tech companies.  In this final episode Dan and Mike chat through what they’ve learnt from their guests, and what they’ve got in store for you next season. CREDITS:  Hosts: Dan Hunter and Mike Madison Executive Producer: Pariya Taherzadeh  Editor/Mixer: Pariya Taherzadeh This pod...

The legal imagination often borrows from unexpected sources, one of those being a baking show! Watching baking competitions inspired Freshfields senior litigation partner Tim Harkness to reflect on different models of talent management in today’s law practice. Mike Madison talks with Tim about his new article,  “Learning from baking shows,” in the April 2022 issue of Modern Lawyer . CREDITS Guest:...

Starting a start up isn’t easy… or is it? In this episode of Future Law Podcast, Dan Hunter chats with the CEO of Checkbox. AI, Evan Wong – the automation platform provider, about life as a founder of legaltech solutions and how to break into the field. CREDITS Guest: Evan Wong Hosts: Dan Hunter and Mike Madison Executive Producer: Pariya Taherzadeh Editor/Mixer: Fyona Smith Supervising Editor: Pa...

You can definitely learn a thing or two from those who aren’t necessarily in the field of law. That’s why Mike Madison chats to lawyer-turned-prize-winning-biographer John Matteson about how future lawyers draw on the talents of historians and biographers – and the reverse. CREDITS Guest: John Matteson –  https://amzn.to/3O8TMdv Hosts: Dan Hunter and Mike Madison Executive Producer: Pariya Taherza...

From a young age we’re taught that ‘education is the key’, but what if after years of studying in the field of law you decide to completely change direction? Will it get you ahead of it all, or have you wasted your time?  In this special bonus episode Mike Madison chats with lawyer, investor, and author Adam Pascarella of “Reversed in Part: 15 Law School Grads on Pursuing Non-Traditional Careers”...

Lots of legal problems can be answered quickly, cheaply, and automatically – if only someone sat down and mapped out the steps. It’s just that there aren’t simple-to-use systems to do this. So, two young lawyers and a computer programmer decided it was time to make a change. Dan chats to Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder at Josef, Sam Flynn about an automated product he and his co-founder cre...

How are incumbent lawyers standing in the way of the future of law? And what are future-oriented innovators doing about that? Mike Madison chats with Eddie Hartman, well-known as a co-founder of the online legal technology company LegalZoom, and now a consultant and investor. Eddie focuses on thinking differently about the challenges and opportunities associated with expanding markets for legal se...

To code or not to code? That’s the question that legaltech founder Dorna Moini answered by creating Documate. In this episode of the Future Law Podcast Dorna speaks to Dan about why it’s ok to be ashamed of your first tech build, as well as the skills and dispositions needed for the future of law. CREDITS Hosts: Dan Hunter and Mike Madison Executive Producer: Pariya Taherzadeh Editor/Mixer: Fyona...

Do you think it’s time to move past “thinking like a lawyer” as the key skill set that legal experts bring to their clients’ problems? As legal tech gets better and better, clients increasingly want more from their counsel: problem solving capabilities for dealing with “wicked” problems. In this episode, Mike Madison speaks to senior lawyer and Managing Director Duc Trang at legal recruiters Major...

We’re back for 2022 and this year we’re shaking things up a little! This season we’re delving into the skills and competencies in law: what’s classic and still in need, what’s new, and what’s getting more critical. We’ll also be looking at ways computers, algorithms, and data are being used to help (or maybe hinder) lawyers, clients, and even courts. Plus, every month we’ll be doing a deep dive wi...

Are you worried about what automation will look like for you? Perhaps you’re curious about how the disruptions of the pandemic will affect your job? Well, this season Mike Madison and Dan Hunter look at the skills and competencies of future law. Starting off the first episode of the year, Dan and Mike look at the changes they’ve observed in the legal industry over these last two years and how to b...